BATON ROUGE – LSU will look to bounce back from last week’s season-opening loss to Wisconsin when the 21st-ranked Tigers host Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse Jacksonville State on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
Kickoff between the Tigers and the Gamecocks is set for 6:30 p.m. with the game being televised on ESPNU where Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter) will call the action.
The game will also be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network with the new Voice of the Tigers Chris Blair making his Tiger Stadium debut. Blair will be joined on broadcast by Doug Moreau (analyst) and Gordy Rush (sideline reporter). The game can be heard in the Baton Rouge area on Eagle 98.1 FM or on the internet for free exclusively at www.LSUsports.net/live.
LSU brings a 0-1 mark into the game as the Tigers opened the season with a 16-14 loss to Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. The loss to the Badgers was LSU’s first in a season-opener since 2002 and snapped the Tigers’ 52-game winning streak in non-conference regular season games.
Jacksonville State, members of the Ohio Valley Conference, opened its season with a 31-12 win over North Alabama on Thursday, Sept. 1. The Gamecocks, who are ranked No. 5 nationally among FCS teams, are coming off a 13-2 overall record last year as they advanced to the FCS National Championship Game before falling to North Dakota State, 37-10.
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The Jacksonville State roster features 10 transfers from Southeastern Conference schools, including Kevin Spears, who spent three years at LSU before joining the Gamecocks during the summer.
Saturday’s game marks the first meeting between LSU and Jacksonville State in football. The Tigers are 10-0 all-time against teams from the FCS, which includes a 7-0 record under Les Miles.
LSU enters the Jacksonville State game riding a 45-game winning streak in Tiger Stadium against non-conference opponents, a streak that dates back to 2000 when the Tigers lost to UAB, 13-10. Miles is 33-0 in non-conference home games as LSU’s head coach.
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The LSU Offense
The Tigers will look to get the offense on track early on Saturday as the Tigers are coming off an performance last week against Wisconsin that saw them account for 257 total yards (126 rushing, 131 passing) on just 51 plays.
The Tigers were led last week by All-America running back Leonard Fournette, who rushed for 138 yards on 23 carries. Fournette, who has been slowed by an ankle injury that he suffered three weeks ago, will be a game time decision on whether or not he can play against Jacksonville State.
If Fournette can’t go, the Tigers can turn to junior Darrel Williams and sophomores Derrius Guice and Nick Brossette to carry the load at running back. Williams has rushed for 598 yards and seven touchdowns during his career with the Tigers, while Guice has accounted for 439 yards and three TDs and Brossette 65 yards.
Quarterback Brandon Harris, who is now 9-5 as a starter, connected on 12-of-21 passes for 131 yards and a TD last week against Wisconsin. His top target a week ago was senior Travin Dural, who hauled in five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown in what was his first action since suffering a season-ending injury against Ole Miss last year.
On the offensive line, the Tigers will shift sophomore Maea Teuhema to the right guard spot, where he will start in place of senior Josh Boutte, who is serving a one-game suspension. With Teuhema at right guard, LSU’s offensive line has combined for 50 starts with senior center Ethan Pocic accounting for 25 of those.
The Tiger offense will face a Jacksonville State defense that held North Alabama to just 12 first downs and 222 total yards (52 rushing, 170 passing) last week. The Gamecock defense produced five sacks and nine tackles for loss in the season-opener.
The LSU Defense
The Tiger defense will be tasked with slowing down as Jacksonville State offense that racked up 502 total yards (272 rushing, 230 passing) in its first game of the season. The Gamecocks rely on All-America quarterback Eli Jenkins, who has rushed for 2,913 yards and thrown for another 5,775 yards during his career. Jenkins has accounted for 66 touchdowns (30 rushing, 36 passing).
Auburn transfer Roc Thomas rushed for 71 yards and three touchdowns last week in his Jacksonville State debut. He also caught four passes for 56 yards against North Alabama. A year ago in Tiger Stadium, Thomas rushed for 37 yards on eight carries in Auburn’s 45-21 loss to LSU.
Last week, LSU’s defense, playing in its new 3-4 scheme under first-year coordinator Dave Aranda, forced three turnovers and limited Wisconsin to 339 total yards (134 rushing, 205 passing). Cornerback Tre’Davious White ignited a second half rally for the Tigers, intercepting a pass and returning it 21-yards for a touchdown to pull LSU to within 13-7.
White recovered a fumble on Wisconsin’s next possession, leading to a Tiger offensive touchdown and a 14-13 advantage.
Defensive end Davon Godchaux led all Tigers with nine tackles, while middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith had seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Defensive end Arden Key had six tackles and a pair of sacks, while nose tackle Travonte Valentine had three tackles in his much-anticipated LSU debut.
The LSU Special Teams
The Tigers will attempt to improve on last week’s special team performance as freshman punter Josh Growden averaged 32.4 yards on seven punts. Growden did have two punts downed inside the 20-yard line and booted a long of 41 yards.
The game will feature of pair of Aussie punters in LSU’s Growden and Jacksonville State’s Dean Kelly, who is from Melbourne, Australia.
LSU’s coverage units allowed just 34 yards on two kickoffs. The Badgers did not return any punts last week.
Noteworthy
- Jacksonville State will likely play in front of the largest crowd in school history on Saturday against LSU. The current record for largest crowd to ever see a Jacksonville State football game is 87,451 set last year at Auburn.
- LSU hasn’t lost a Saturday night home opener since 1994 when the Tigers dropped an 18-13 decision to 15th-ranked Texas A&M.
- LSU has won 10 straight home openers, a streak that goes back to 2006 when LSU beat Louisiana-Lafayette, 45-3.
- LSU has played 139 of its 145 under Les Miles ranked in the Top 25. Under Miles, LSU is 107-32 as a Top 25 team.
Next Up
After Saturday, the Tigers open SEC play against Mississippi State in Tiger Stadium. Last week, the Bulldogs opened their season with a 21-20 loss to South Alabama in Starkville. The Bulldogs host South Carolina this week.